


Grace

by lucathia



Series: Grace [2]
Category: The Legend of the Sun Knight
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Genderbending, Harems, Humor, M/M, Reincarnation, Romance, Time Travel, bonds across time, word count: 10000+
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-25 01:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/946839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucathia/pseuds/lucathia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grisia ends up in the future where the God of Light and the Twelve Holy Knights no longer exist. In such a world, can he still get people to believe in the God of Light? Having the world overrun by dark element is a problem. But what happens when the world is overrun by holy element?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Gravity

**Author's Note:**

> Names and other terminology mostly follow Prince Revolution's translations.

It started with a question.

"Child, what are you willing to sacrifice your life for?"

To which the golden-haired boy who had been asked the question gave it much thought and answered with as much gravity as he could muster at his age:

"For the sake of protecting my brothers, I'm willing to sacrifice my life."

At the time, the boy had not even gotten to know all of his brothers yet. He only knew that if he were to become the Sun Knight, he would gain eleven brothers who would stand by his side. If there were one extra person, that would be even better. Six people to his left, six to his right!

For Grisia who had grown up in an orphanage, the idea of having brothers was so awesome that he couldn't help smiling widely, elated from the bottom of his heart. His smile and his dazzling, golden-hair under the noon sun had nearly blinded Neo.

After that, Neo Sun chose him as his successor over all the other candidates despite his poor performance in certain areas, one of them being his swordsmanship. Neo had known that Grisia fared poorly with a sword, but he hadn't known just _how_ hopeless Grisia's skill with the sword would turn out, as he had still been optimistic that he could succeed in teaching Grisia the way of the sword. The golden-haired boy by the name of Grisia successfully became the 38th Sun Knight and thus gained several brothers just like that.

For these brothers of his, Grisia was willing to sacrifice his life. Grisia's answer never changed, and he held true to his word throughout the years. During his time as the 38th Sun Knight, he sacrificed more than one part of himself to see to his brothers' continual well being.

First was his sight in exchange for Elmairy's complete revival. Then, it was his golden-hair for Lesus's return to life without any side effects. Next, it was...

Grisia was willing to sacrifice his life, his everything for his brothers. What did it matter if he lost his sight or anything else? It was his to give.

His brothers, however, were not unaffected by his sacrifices, but no amount of words or actions swayed Grisia's resolve. Grisia would always choose the same course of action. He was stubborn to a fault and would really have made a fine Stone Knight.

For this stubborn Sun Knight of theirs, the Twelve Holy Knights were in turn willing to give their all.

Neither Grisia's willingness to sacrifice himself for his brothers nor the regard his brothers held for him would ever change.

They were the Twelve Holy Knights.

That was how they worked.

* * *

It happened because of his answer.

_Child, are you willing to sacrifice your life for your brothers?_

Grisia, the Sun Knight, was in the middle of a brutal battle when a voice called out to him. Lesus had disappeared for many weeks, akin to how Grisia had once disappeared, and the general consensus was that the enemy had something to do with it. Grisia would not stop until he exacted his revenge and found Lesus. So when the question was asked, Grisia didn't hesitate at all before he yelled, "Damn right I am!"

This was a betrayal, one Grisia would never forgive.

Grisia didn't even stop to consider who had spoken to him, but he really should have, for his answer to this being had sealed his fate. 

_Child, then I give you this chance to set things right._

A blinding light flashed. Everyone in the vicinity either squinted or covered their eyes. Even Grisia's sensing ability wavered, the sudden burst of holy element too overwhelming for him to sense his surroundings.

* * *

It continued across time and space.

"What--"

When the blinding light dissipated, only one person remained -- Grisia. Color began to seep into his sight.

He blinked and discovered that he could actually _see_. The trees before him had red and orange leaves, and the birds that were soaring through the blue sky were white. These were sights he thought he'd never see again with his own eyes. He staggered and shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight. 

For some reason, he had all of his senses.

_But... Where am I? What happened to everyone else? What happened to the battle?_

Grisia stumbled forward -- his limbs felt awkward -- but he soon righted himself. _I need to find everyone! I can't let them get hurt!_

 _But... Why were we battling? Right, Lesus went missing... But how did Lesus go missing?_ Grisia found that he couldn't remember. He slowed down, his steps coming to a halt.

_Why can't I remember?_

"Grace, are you okay?"

Someone tapped Grisia's shoulder. Grisia whirled around. A worried-looking woman in strange clothes stood behind him. She stepped back upon receiving Grisia's startled attention.

"Grace?" asked the woman hesitantly.

"...Grace?" Grisia echoed in confusion. 

The woman nibbled her lips. "You're making fun of me again, aren't you?"

When Grisia continued looking confused, the woman pleaded, "Come on, Grace, that's your name! Well, your nickname. You know, like how mine is Strawberry? Don't scare me like this!"

Upon hearing the woman's name, Grisia stared at "Strawberry" more closely and found that she bore striking similarities with Elmairy, especially that furrow between her brows. Except, she was a girl. _Don't tell me I'm in some bizarre alternate universe where we're all girls?_ Immediately, Grisia looked down at his own chest, patted himself down, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he found out he was as flat as a board. That didn't stop him from turning around and checking down there as well, just to be sure. 

"...What are you doing?"

"Just checking..." Grisia replied and turned back around.

When Strawberry continued to look worried, Grisia tried to smile. His trademarked Sun Knight smile should do the trick. "Strawberry, you need not worry. Under the brilliant sunlight, thanks to the..."

Grisia's voice died before he could even finish praising the God of Light. Even though he had wanted to lessen Strawberry's apprehension because of how much she resembled Elmairy, he couldn't stop himself from staring past her and increasing her worry. He stared at the tall, boxy buildings that he was only just noticing. _Are they even buildings?_ He had never seen anything more foreign looking. The buildings looked like they were touching the sky.

_Just where in the name of the God of Light am I? What is going on here?_

"Grace, you're worrying me..."

_And why is this Strawberry woman calling me Grace? I don't have time for this!_


	2. Chapter 1: Grip

_Never let it be said that Strawberry is a pushover. She definitely isn't one!_

Ever since I had lost my sight, Elmairy had always looked at me with apology, as if he were the perpetrator of all the misery in the world, but Strawberry had no such qualms. She pulled me right along, intent on marching me "home." 

"Your jokes have gone far enough, Grace!" she declared. Either she was deceptively strong, or I was weaker than I thought, getting dragged along by her so easily. 

_No, no, it must be because I wasn't resisting. I mean, what else could I have done?_

I had stood there stupidly for long enough, with my face scrunched up like I had bitten a sour lemon. I had been trying to "think" as hard as I could to project my thoughts, trying to reach the Twelve Holy Knights. However, it had been useless. No one had responded, and I hadn't been able to locate any of them either, my sensing weaker than ever! It was pitiable, my range only slightly more than what I had before I went blind and had to rely on my sensing ability in place of my sight.

_Is it because I have my sight back?_

_What use is my sight if it means my sensing would get weaker? If my sensing were stronger, I'd have easily been able to get my bearings!_

This meant I had to rely on my _eyes_. It was strange having to rely on such limited vision again.

As we walked, I studied my surroundings and Strawberry as best as I could with my eyes. She was slightly shorter than me and had a head of light brown hair that came to her shoulders and curled at the end. Her clothes were light and airy, her loose dress a gentle pink lined with pale green. It gave away to another layer of some sort of dress underneath, and that one was framed with lace just like the lace on the ends of her sleeves. She wore long socks much like what Pink preferred, and hers were decorated with red strawberries. 

It was no wonder her nickname was Strawberry if she liked strawberries so much. She even wore a strawberry hair clip that kept her hair out of her eyes.

I wouldn't have immediately thought her familiar if not for her nickname and the worry she had expressed, earnest green eyes staring at me so intently, as if she could see right through me. It felt like having Elmairy's eyes on me, his soul staring out at me through this stranger, but that couldn't be right. Elmairy was Elmairy, and Strawberry was Strawberry... who was very much a woman.

I looked down at our connected hands. _Why is it that girls will only hold my hand if they don't know I'm the Sun Knight?_

It was like I had some sort of barrier around me as the Sun Knight keeping girls away! 

_...Who am I kidding? I_ do _have a barrier, that being thirty-eight generations worth of legends._

_Grace, whoever you are, you are one lucky man to have someone as cute as Strawberry fretting over you!_

Suddenly, I felt something shake and heard singing. I jumped and stared down.

My pants were glowing.

I repeat. My pants were _glowing_. For a split second, I had the horrid thought that something was wrong with my groin, but thankfully the area that was glowing was much further to the left. I hurriedly glanced around me, surveying the area, but I saw no one who looked like they were casting magic on me. 

The glowing made no sense. 

I stared back down at my glowing patch of clothes. Despite my scrutiny, singing and buzzing continued to come from my pants. It was, to say the least, very disturbing!

With my free hand, I poked at the shining spot. There was actually a pocket there! Tentatively, I reached inside and retrieved a slim, hard shingle with silver lining, which let me breathe a sigh of relief. The shaking and singing was coming from the shingle and not some part of my body.

The front of the shingle glowed like a convergence of holy light. There was also some sort of text across the object, and I was surprised to find that I understood what it said.

"Incoming call... Edaline?" I read. 

Immediately after I spoke, Strawberry dropped my hand guiltily. I blinked in surprise.

"You better take that," she said, eyes shifting away. 

_Take what?_

When I continued doing nothing, Strawberry huffed and stepped closer to swipe at the shingle I held. The singing stopped, and the words on the front changed. Suddenly, a soft voice sounded from it.

"Grace," said the shining shingle. 

I blinked and dangled the object in the air, studying it from all angles. _Is this some kind of trinket that allows telepathy across distances?_

"Grace?" the shingle tried again.

"Edaline?" I tried saying, since the shingle was displaying the name. 

"Grace." 

_Okay, okay, I get it already. Did this shingle know how to say anything other than "Grace"?_

Strawberry pursed her lips and whispered, "She's not going to be able to hear you like that! Hold your cell closer!"

"You're with Beryl again," said the shingle. The voice was flat. I thought it sounded quite accusatory. There was a long pause. I almost thought it wasn't going to speak any more. Then, it said, "The pie's done."

After those words, the shingle went dark. 

Strawberry covered her face and groaned. "Oh no, she's going to misunderstand _again._ " She glanced through her fingers at the shingle, guilt written all over her face.

I just stared at the now dark shingle. Or "cell," as what Strawberry had called it. I'd learned several things. First, this cell allowed me to communicate with someone called Edaline. It was that, or the shingle was sentient like Dragon Saint Brigandine, but I doubted that. Otherwise, Strawberry wouldn't have dared to hold my hand in the first place considering her current guilty reaction. Second of all, Edaline had made pie. Third, Strawberry's actual name was Beryl. 

Strawberry really sounded much better than Beryl. 

Last of all, Edaline and Grace were...

"She won't misunderstand, will she?" I asked, playing along and pretending to be worried. 

A weak smile appeared over Strawberry's face. "I hope not. I don't think she's too mad. Otherwise, she wouldn't have mentioned the pie."

That didn't tell me much, only reinforcing that Edaline had made pie, which I already knew.

"She always makes great pies," I said with a smile, fishing for more information. Never let it be said that I didn't know how to push a woman's buttons. After all, I'd had several princesses call me despicable in the past... Ahem, truly, they have poor taste. The point was, no woman liked hearing a man praise another woman in her presence...

"Oh yes, she does indeed make the best pies," Strawberry said in agreement, large smile on her face.

_...I take that back. Strawberry is an exception._ I should have known she would have the heart of a saint. She was reminding me more and more of Elmairy by the minute, who never thought badly of anyone. 

"Come on, Grace," Strawberry urged. "Edaline might not be mad right now, but if you don't hurry back to eat that pie, she will get mad!"

She looked at me with her earnest green eyes. "It wouldn't do to keep your girlfriend waiting!"


	3. Chapter 2: Grasp

My mind worked overtime as Strawberry led me to the girlfriend's place. I was very envious of this Grace person who had someone like Strawberry worrying over him and who even had a girlfriend making pie for him. What a life of luxury! 

_What, I have people doing the same for me? But... they're guys! It's not the same!_

Still, I had to admit that Ice's sweets were the best. Unfortunately, he had not had the leisure to make any sweets for the past month. Our hands had been tied.

Right when I walked through the door, the smell of freshly baked pie assaulted my nose. I took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious aroma. Whoever this Edaline was, I liked her already.

Then, I saw her come out of the kitchen bearing a pie.

I stared.

I bit the inside of my mouth, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

It hurt. A lot. 

_Dear God of Light, am I being rewarded, or am I being punished?_

If Strawberry were the only one who resembled one of my holy knight brothers, I could have written it off as a coincidence. Now, I couldn't.

Edaline's hair was pale and wispy, like freshly fallen snow. Her cheeks were pale too. She looked just like Ecilan, except her chin and her eyes were not as sharp, and she was obviously female with that figure of hers, accentuated even more by the fact that she was wearing form-fitting pants instead of a loose dress like Strawberry's. She was what I'd imagine Ecilan would look like if he had a softer feel to him. And if he were, well, a girl.

_I know I've always thought that Leaf and Ice would make great mothers and wives, but I never thought..._

I never thought they'd actually turn into girls.

_Dear God of Light, please don't tell me that you answered that whim of mine! I was joking!_

It was while I was still feeling uneasy that I accepted a slice of pie from Edaline. When I bit into the pie, a burst of sweet blueberry melted in my mouth. This was definitely the taste of Ecilan's cooking, and I'd missed it. If I hadn't thought that these two were Leaf and Ice, now I truly believed. 

_Pie doesn't lie!_

While I chewed, Edaline had her eyes trained on me. I flashed her a smile. Her cheeks reddened, painting her pale countenance with a rosy liveliness, her emotions much more unguarded than Ice's. Ice was definitely capable of blushing, but he always kept his emotions controlled, so it wasn't very often that I saw him blush. Then, later on, I could no longer see it anyway. Sensing it wasn't quite the same.

I couldn't help but think that she looked really cute.

Upon thinking so, I hastily swallowed the bite of pie I had been chewing and nearly choked on it. Alarmed, both Edaline and Strawberry immediately started pounding me on the back. 

With tears in my eyes, I held up a hand to stop them from sending me off to see the God of Light before my time. _Did you two take lessons from Ann or what?_ When my coughs finally subsided, I looked over at them. Both were obviously concerned.

I didn't understand. _How is it that they're both still mistaking me for "Grace"?_

"Do you need to maybe splash some water on your face?" Strawberry asked as she twisted her dress in her hand. "You look a little pale."

I nodded absentmindedly, but I didn't think that there would be a lavatory or a well available in such a small house. In the Holy Temple, there were plenty of lavatories available, but such amenities were uncommon among the houses of normal citizens. I doubted that Edaline would have one installed in her home.

However, when I made no motion to move, Edaline stood up wordlessly and tugged on my hand. She led me down the corridor and pushed open a door, which led to a dark room. When she flicked something on the wall, light immediately bathed the room in brightness.

"Go on," she said, her voice quiet. She nodded her head at the room, wanting me to head inside. "I'll be in the living room."

Left alone, I stared at the small room before me. What lit up the room were small round spheres that were fixed above a mirror. Below the mirror was a basin that had metal sticking out of it. I closed the door behind me, as the room looked to be of a lavatory of some sort. I was wrong that Edaline didn't have such an amenity in her home. _Maybe she's richer than I thought._

There didn't seem to be any source of water except for what was in another basin that connected to a tank, but the height of that basin didn't seem conducive for washing one's face.

It mattered little, as I could always fill the taller basin by drawing upon the water element, but that wasn't what was occupying my attention at the moment. I approached the mirror, touching my fingers to its cool surface. 

This was why neither Strawberry nor Edaline had thought that I wasn't Grace.

This was why I had felt disoriented when I took my first steps. 

The man reflected in the mirror wasn't me. 

He had golden blond hair and clear blue eyes, but the nose wasn't quite the same, and neither were his cheekbones. It was me, yet it wasn't. I would have believed the man reflected in the mirror to be my brother or some other long lost relative with how strikingly similar his appearance was to mine, but the minute differences meant that he and I weren't one and the same. 

No wonder I could see. No wonder my sensing had turned weak. No wonder I saw blond hair lying against my shoulders even without casting holy element over it.

The man in the mirror _wasn't_ me. 

I...wasn't me.

I felt everything slip out of my grasp.

_Where in the world am I?_

I let my hand drop from the mirror. 

_Who...am I?_

I stared up at the bright lights, recalling what I'd seen so far.

Towering buildings. Telepathy through glowing shingles. Torchless lights. I'd never seen anything like them before. This wasn't the world I'd known.

There were even things missing from my memory, holes where there shouldn't be any (was it because I was occupying a body that wasn't mine?), but I still remembered one thing, above all else.

Lesus had been in trouble. 

I tried to keep that thought in my grasp. I couldn't lose hold of it. I needed it to ground me.

_I have to save him._

I couldn't wander around aimlessly, wasting my time when Lesus needed every second of it. 

_I have to find my way back._

When I left the lavatory, I let my feet plod down the corridor to where I heard the girls' voices. I wasn't sure where the living room Edaline mentioned was, but my guess was that it was the room we had been sitting in.

"Can you believe he was pretending he didn't know his name?" Strawberry pouted. "It was so mean of him!"

Edaline made non-committal noises in response. If Leaf had been comfortable in Ice's presence, perhaps he would air his complaints to him much like what Strawberry was currently doing with Edaline, but I'd only ever known Leaf to keep his distance, and he wasn't one to badmouth anyone, not even in a joking manner. He was, however, one of the few who had truly earned Ice's wrath for always adding extra seasoning to the food Ice made. Ice didn't lose his cool very easily, but one sure way of angering him was disrespecting his food. Leaf had always been too crazy over seasonings.

Despite that Strawberry and Edaline were acting more familiar with each other than Leaf and Ice ever did, I couldn't help but see Leaf and Ice in them. They sat by each other, enjoying pie together. It was a sweet scene, but I could tell that Strawberry was trying to cover up her concern with her complaints. 

It made me feel bad about what I was going to do next.


	4. Chapter 3: Gradual

Blue ribbon in my mouth, I combed my hair, pulling it up into a ponytail. After tying my hair, I fixed my vest and black bow tie in place. I looked at myself in the mirror, turning left and right.

_Not bad._

This Grace person really did look 99% like me. In other words, very handsome and dazzling! I'd never worn black all that much, but I guess now I knew what I'd look like if I did. Strawberry called what I currently wore a dress shirt, dress pants, and a vest. Only the dress shirt was white while the rest was black. My current attire wasn't fancy at all, but supposedly, this was what I always wore to work.

I looked out the window at the setting sun. It was just about time for me to head to work. I hurried out without looking at the walls of my current home. 

Edaline met me outside of my "apartment" to walk me to work. When I saw her, I gave her a bright smile. We fell into step, walking in companionable silence.

As we walked, I surveyed my surroundings. The buildings were very tall and boxy, while the streets were so smooth that a tomato might roll from one street to the next without stopping if someone were to drop one. Not a single horse was to be seen. Instead, metal contraptions rolled on wheels. When I first saw them the other day, my heart nearly jumped out of my rib cage.

_Enchanted puppets?_

Enchanted puppets were creatures of metal created by alchemists. Normally, I wouldn't be too worried about them, as I wasn't one of the Twelve Holy Knights for nothing, but the sheer number of enchanted puppets was mind boggling! 

On top of that, enchanted puppets thrived on magic as their power source. I'd only be giving them a charge if I attacked with magic! No way did I want to reenact what had happened in the Valley of Trizer! At the time, I had Ice's help, but while Edaline here looked just like Ice, I doubted she had the strength of a Twelve Holy Knight.

I immediately started devising a way for all of the enchanted puppets to collide against each other and burst into flames, Chains of Darkness might work in tripping them, but as I was devising my plan, Edaline continued walking without the least bit of fear. 

"Edaline!" I shouted out in alarm. She stepped right up to one of the enchanted puppets and... pried it open. Then, she turned, waiting for me to catch up.

"..." I could only stare wordlessly. 

_Alright, seems like I'm being too cautious._

If people wanted to pry open enchanted puppets to ride in their stomachs, who was I to stop them?

"Grace," Edaline suddenly said, bringing me back to the present. She glanced up at me. "Have you remembered anything?"

Shaking my head, I apologized. "No, not yet."

That's right. That night at Edaline's home, I lied to both girls, telling them that I had amnesia. It was either that, or telling them that their comrade was now being possessed by the 38th generation Sun Knight. If they didn't think me crazy upon hearing that, then I'd wonder if they were the crazy ones! 

_Sun, haven't you become more open with us? Don't revert back to the time when you never tell us anything!_

My conscience sounded suspiciously like an accusatory Leaf. It was probably because Strawberry kept gazing at me with a worried expression. But what choice did I have? I knew nothing about this world! If I didn't garner the help of these people who cared so much about Grace, I'd have a difficult time even exiting Edaline's home! I didn't even know how her door worked! 

And while they looked a lot like my brothers, my first priority was still returning to my world, to my holy knights.

Unfortunately, my "confession" landed me in what the girls called a "hospital." I'd really underestimated them. To think that they would bring me to an expert to test whether or not I was lying! 

But I wasn't the Sun Knight for nothing! It's not that I'm boasting, but my acting skills are top notch. Even though the "doctor" claimed there was nothing physically wrong with me, he believed wholeheartedly that I didn't remember a thing. In the end, he recited a bunch of stuff about my symptoms and whatnot while Edaline and Strawberry hung onto his every word. I was nearly a hundred percent sure that he was just making everything up about my nonexistent amnesia and how I could have come by it because he ended his spiel by saying, "Don't worry! His memories will come back! It'll just take time!"

_Duh! Anyone could have said that! They could have come to that conclusion themselves!_

With the doctor's recommendation, Strawberry and Edaline took me home and filled me in on as much as they could about my life. Grace's life, that was. Grace's age was younger than mine. He was twenty-four, the same age as I had been when the demon king incident had broken out. In school, he studied acting... theater, whatever it was called, while he currently worked as a bartender. Perhaps this Grace person was actually my reincarnation. If I hadn't been the Sun Knight, I would have made a fine actor and an even better winemaker! 

I walked around his apartment, trying to familiarize myself with what was to be my home for the time being. I had to learn all I could about this world, gradual progress it may be, in the belief that I would one day be able to find a way home. The apartment was, as expected, completely unfamiliar. On top of that...

_Why in the world does Grace have all these paintings of golden-haired, blue-eyed guys on the wall?!_

I'd stared in disbelief at the walls. Even I wasn't this narcissistic! 

Since I was currently this Grace person, I had to go about his daily life, which was why I was dutifully heading to work. I was thankful to get out of that apartment filled with paintings of golden-haired men. Just thinking about it made me want to shiver!

Once we reached my workplace, a tavern -- no, a bar, Edaline had called it a bar -- Edaline pulled on my hand. Inside my heart, I was a bit at a loss. 

_Don't tell me this is where I'm supposed to kiss her goodbye?_

While Edaline was very cute, especially when she blushed, kissing her would totally feel like kissing Ice, and besides, I wasn't her actual boyfriend! 

Just as I was panicking about what to do ( _A cutie comes up to you and you don't even dare kiss her? Are you a man or not, Grisia?!_ ) Edaline tugged on my hand. She had a conflicted look on her face.

_Why are you the one looking conflicted?_

I leaned closer, unsure of the expression on her face, but Edaline hastily dropped my hand and stepped backward, which was both relieving and a bit...disappointing. It also made me realize that we hadn't held hands throughout the entire walk, not until we stopped. Wouldn't normal couples hold hands?

"You really don't remember," she said, eyes flicking up to study me through her long eyelashes. 

_Haven't we already established that?_

"I..." she started to say.

But before she could finish, the door to the taver-bar swung open with a bang, and a redhead stomped out. Even though I only caught a glimpse of him, there was no mistaking him for anyone else, and I was once again revising my opinion of just what the heck was going on.

A man who looked like the spitting image of Chikus Blaze... shoved me away from Edaline.

"Grace!" He growled. "I've already warned you not to get close to Edaline!"

_Don't tell me that this Blaze look alike is in love with Ice? And is fighting with Grace over her?_

I wanted to sob.

_Leave me out of it!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus pic from Kiyutsuna! :D
> 
>   
> Bartender Grisia~~~ (Or well, "Grace" What a cutie~~~)


	5. Chapter 4: Grating

Rows and rows of upside down wine glasses hung from above. Quite impractical, really. A commotion could easily cause the glasses to fall and shatter. _That's a disaster waiting to happen!_

I shivered. _How much would it cost to replace all the wine glasses?_

To the side, wine bottles lined the shelves. _That must be a fortune right there._ I licked my lips, eyes roving across the labels on each one. Every bottle had a label, but even then, I didn't know which one the Chikus look-alike wanted, and his hostility wasn't helping. He was practically glaring holes into my back as his fingers tapped against the surface of the counter he sat at. A grating, non-stop drumming. Even without speaking, he was loud. 

_Tap. Bah-dump, bah-dump. Tap, tap._

_Hey, hey, even if you glare holes into my back and annoy me to death with that endless drumming, it's not like I'll_ actually _drop dead and lessen the number of love rivals by one!_

I selected a random bottle, having already forgotten the name of the wine the Chikus look-alike had rattled off. _Chikus, a wine connoisseur?_ The thought almost made me chuckle. I doubted whether Chikus even knew the difference between apple wine and grape wine. He only ever downed his alcohol in one go, much too quickly to savor the taste. I could give him cheap wine, and he would be none the wiser. 

_Bah-dump, bah-dump, bah-dump-dump._

_Ugh, he's still at it!_

As I brought a bottle of wine to the counter, I studied the man sitting behind it. He truly was the spitting image of Chikus Blaze. He had the same fiery red hair and piercing eyes, not to mention the same frustrating impatience. Perhaps I could have written Strawberry off as a coincidence. She could have been some super distant relative of Elmairy's, or even some stranger who happened to look like him. Having Edaline added to the mix was stretching it, but it could have still been a coincidence. I'd really wanted it to be so. Then, I could focus on returning home without caring about them. 

But having three people who resembled my holy knights show up meant I could no longer consider this just a coincidence. Such coincidences really didn't exist in the world. There had been many times in my life when I had thought a happening was a mere coincidence, but in the end, none of them had actually been coincidences.

For example, meeting Roland again. Losing my memories. Even becoming the Sun Knight. My life had always been at the mercy of the gods. _This time is no different, is it?_

I looked upward. All I saw was the ceiling of this bar place. At least it was clean. 

_God of Light, what do you wish of Grisia this time?_

_The voice I heard in the middle of battle before meeting Strawberry, could that have been the God of Light?_

He had only ever spoken directly to me once in my lifetime, that time He woke me from my crazed slumber. Try as I might, I had never been able to recall the sound of His voice from that time. If it truly was the God of Light who had spoken to me during battle before I'd been whisked here, I... I wished I had paid more attention!

_What had He said?!_

I frowned. _Something about... setting things right? Yes, I think that's it._

However, to set things right, I'd have to find out what was wrong first. Without doing all that, it was unlikely I'd be returned to where I'd been whisked away from. 

_But what about Lesus..._

I was broken out of my thoughts when the Chikus look-alike's grating drumming evolved into a loud smack. _You're paying for the counter if you break it!_ He complained and pointed at the bottle, "That's not what I ordered!"

"You'll enjoy it," I said and proceeded to pour him a glass. _Wine served by the Sun Knight? You better enjoy it!_

Despite his complaint, he grabbed the glass, took a sniff, and sipped his wine anyway, albeit cautiously. After taking a sip, his eyes lit up. He then tilted his head back and downed the rest of the wine, baring his neck. With a satisfied smack of his lips after he finished, he exclaimed, "Wine served by you always tastes the best! What wine is this? I'll order it again next time!"

I blinked. _That was a sudden change of attitude. Could I have read him wrongly?_

I showed him the bottle I'd randomly selected so he could see the name of the wine, and then I asked, "Why don't you like me getting close to Edaline? She's my girlfriend. Of course I'd be close with her."

When he'd shoved me away from Edaline outside the bar, I'd thought a fight would break out. Instead, he ordered wine, and Edaline merely said she would explain later. She then headed inside the bar to talk with my "boss" to explain my supposed amnesia. Before she left, she had glanced up at me and then quickly looked away. 

There was something going on between Edaline and Grace. She wasn't nearly as expressionless as Ecilan that she could hide it. Perhaps she was merely anxious over her boyfriend losing his memories, but I had a feeling something else was going on.

The Chikus look-alike scrunched up his face. "I still can't believe the two of you got together."

"Why not?" _And what does it have to do with you?_

"You..." _Yes, yes, go on. Me, what?_ "You've never shown any interest in girls!"

_What._

_Don't tell me..._

"You've only ever cared about theater and your wines. I don't get why you suddenly got together with her," the Chikus look-alike grumbled.

_Phew. That's a better explanation. Besides, Grace is totally surrounded by girls, so he can't be uninterested in them. I've already met two!_

"There's nothing strange about it," I decided to say. This was as good a chance as any to test his response and clue him in. "She may seem cold at first glance, but she's actually really sweet." _Not all that different from Ecilan._ "Even when she found out that I'd lost my memories, she—"

"YOU WHAT?!" He jumped up and slammed the counter with his hands. I hurriedly grabbed the teetering bottle and wine glass, saving them from the sad fate of shattering on the floor.

While hugging the bottle of wine and the wine glass to myself, I said, "You heard me. I lost my memories."

"What? When? How?" he spluttered. 

I carefully and slowly placed both items back on the counter.

"I don't know. The other day, I was in the park with Strawberry. I don't remember anything before that."

"But you remember that you call her Strawberry?" 

"It suits her," I said with a shrug. _Though she was the one who told me._

"I guess..." He scratched his head. 

"So," I began asking, "what's your name?"

The Chikus look-alike's mouth fell open. "You... don't remember me? That's just cruel, Grace." He paused and looked directly at me, a sudden seriousness seizing his demeanor, making him look older. "I'm Chislon."

The name really didn't ring a bell.

At this time, Edaline walked out from the back of the bar and said, "Grace, I told Forrester."

_Forrester?_ Based on what Edaline had told me about Grace's workplace, Forrester wasn't the boss. "Not Edgar?" I asked.

_Wait, going along with these names, don't tell me Edgar is some Ed look-alike... My own platoon member, my boss?!_

"He's on vacation back home," Edaline answered. After speaking, she glanced between the Chikus look-alike, the Chislon guy, and me. Her brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

_Bah-dump, bah-dump, bah-dump dump._

_Ugh, he's at it again..._

She looked over, and then broke off her gaze. "Ah... I forgot to mention the business party that's being held tomorrow. Grace, you... don't have to attend."

"Previously, did I say I'd go?" I asked.

Edaline hesitated but nodded.

"Then, I'll go. It doesn't matter whether or not I lost my memories. A promise is a promise," I said and tried to smile reassuringly at her.

However, she still wouldn't meet my eyes, and Chislon looked none too happy. Even his fingers had stilled.

_Sigh. How am I supposed to set things right when I don't even know what's wrong?_ I doubted the God of Light had sent me here to fix relationship problems! 

The only lead I had was being around these people who looked like my holy knights. _Let's hope something happens at that party!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally found my notes for this fic! Man, I totally forgot I named someone Forrester.


End file.
